Hanna-Barbera Space Ghost Figure Review

So have you heard the good news? Space Ghost has a new highly articulated 6 inch figure on the shelves! I’m going to make your day even brighter, because it’s under $12 and it’s available at mass retail. Holy smokes there’s gotta be a catch right? Yes indeed there is. It’s made by Jazwares!

Jazwares are not exactly known for their high quality figures. When I reviewed my Black Knight Sonic he had two right hands and then in my Vector review I noted how he had one of his legs on wrong. But that was years ago, surely things have gotten better, right? Right?

But it’s Space Ghost! I’ve loved Space Ghost since I was a kid. The old 1960’s Alex Toth cartoon had so many cool designs. It just screamed awesome and when it was revisited in the 90’s for the absurd Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, the characters managed to become even more beloved in parody form. Art Asylum and Toycom actually released figures of that show, but they were expensive when they first came out and quickly became rare. Finally we have a new Space Ghost toy on the market. Surely that’s enough to give this figure a pass?

This line of Hanna-Barbera toys is like a dream come true. A variety of characters from a ton of properties like the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Space Ghost, Captain Caveman and even Secret Squirrel. But as much as I want to love this Space Ghost figure, there is just so much here that’s wrong. Jazwares strikes again. Leonard Ghostal does not approve.Packaging:
Right from the outset we have issues. I actually like the package for the most part. It’s a generic package, but it has that Boomerang retro style going for it. There’s a picture of Space Ghost on the front from the classic animation and even his logo is the vintage Space Ghost logo.

Space Ghost and Blip are clearly visible in the front and it’s a nice clean presentation. So far so good. Unfortunately the back leaves a LOT to be desired. There’s a neat little picture of a ton of Hanna-Barbera characters (even Jabberjaw!) but the rest of the series is only shown off via name graphics. It doesn’t even tell you that there’s other figures to collect, it just has their names. It also neglects to mention that there is a 3″ line as well.

Putting aside the fact that the package neglects to tell you about the character, the toy line or anything at all, the rest of the package is flawed as well. Inside Space Ghost isn’t strapped in via anything, which wouldn’t be a problem if Mr. Coast to Coast was held in snug in his plastic shell… But he’s not. The figure is literally rattling around in the package and he just falls right out as soon as you open it. This no doubt will lead to scuffs and paint damage. What the hell man?!

Sculpt/Paint:
Surprisingly the sculpt of Space Ghost is quite good. I always liked the Toycom version, but it was definitely a pretty basic Space Ghost. This one beefs up the heroic side of Space Ghost, while still keeping his proportions pretty accurate. Space Ghost always had a smaller waist and legs, as an example.

The details on the belt, gauntlets and even his chest piece are actually pretty nice. At least sculpturally. The paint application is another can of worms entirely. Space Ghost is either missing paint or had it rubbed off in the package on his chest. There’s a fair amount of bleed from the wrist gauntlets as well, but it’s not too bad.

There is a strange amount of rub from the cape on the neck as well. I say strange because there’s also “spray” on the neck. It’s almost like they painted the cape once the head was attached?!

The paint is feels really cheap. It’s that McFarlane style paint. You know what I mean? It feels sort of like I painted this as opposed to a factory in China. The whole figure almost feels like resin or something too. I know it’s plastic, but it’s not very high quality plastic. Almost like a bootleg.

As good as the basic sculpt is, the head is a bit weak. I realize Space Ghost has a pretty generic face, but this sculpt just doesn’t quite hit the mark. The shoddy thick paint applications aren’t doing it any favors, either.

Then to make things worse, there’s a fair amount of flashing on some of the key parts. This is really unsightly.

Moltar, glad to see you here!

And there’s mold lines as well. Not to mention the articulation cuts are big and gaping.

And the construction of this figure is just baffling. It feels like something Shocker Toys would make. In fact, it’s honestly not even as solid as Indie Spotlight Series 1 was. That’s disappointing. The legs are SUPER loose. These are the LOOSEST legs I have ever had in a toy. Seriously, I’m not kidding. And that’s straight out of the package!

Despite all that, amazingly he can stand up quite easily. I didn’t have much trouble with him falling over, even with those loose goose legs. However you can’t really use those legs for dynamic poses and such.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicola!

And then I pulled off his leg. With no issue. It just pops right off. I think that should give you an indication of how loose it is.

But even worse is the face that his arm joint popped out. The joint is flat and solid with no ridges, which means it can just be popped in and out with no issue. That’s good for me as I can easily fix the figure, but it baffles the mind that a professional company doesn’t have some way to lock the joints in. This figure feels like someone’s first attempt at making an action figure… Or like a prototype or something.

Scale wise he fits in alright with DCUC which is what this figure seems to be most patterned after. He’s a tad small, but I attribute that to him being a bit closer to a real 6 inch scale than most of the DC Universe Classics.

Although to be honest, I’m not sure why he’s not an exact match. Jazwares seemed to have cloned a DCUC figure for the most part here and they have to know people will want it to fit in with those. So the minor differences are a bit baffling, but hardly the biggest issue with this figure.

Articulation:
And the hits just keep on coming. Surprisingly Space Ghost has quite a bit of articulation. But there are a couple of joints that are just completely stupid.

Space Ghost has DCUC articulation from the waist down and although it’s super loose, at least it works. His arms lack a swivel at the bicep though. This is even more frustrating when you realize his hands are SCULPTED so that he can reach over and activate his blaster. Not so on this figure.

He also severely needs a swivel at the wrist. The hinge at the wrist barely works and it’s a bit unsightly. Of course it might would have come in handy if there was any way to get a bicep to swivel. As it stands, these are the most pointless joint additions in the history of mankind. Bravo Jazwares, you really outdone yourself here. It’s almost like they just ran out of money halfway through this figure.

If I had a nickel for every time I tried to swivel the arms, wrists or something in that area, I’d be a freaking millionaire. I can’t tell you how bad this figure needs it. I’m no articulation junkie, but it just feels natural to try and swivel the arms. Half the leg articulation could have been skipped for a damned bicep swivel.

I really don’t know why he has so much articulation below the waist when you can’t do the most important poses above it. The Toycom figure lacked bicep swivels too, but that was a decade ago and they often lamented how they wished they had put some bicep swivels into that sculpt.

Accessories:
Blip is the bright spot. Man, that’s saying something.

This is our first figure of Blip! It’s a static PVC figure, but it works nice for the character. Toycom didn’t make a Blip since he only occasionally showed up briefly in SGC2C. Jazwares did some nice work here.

His paint work is solid and he has a few neat little details.

He does have a huge CE on it. That stands for Conformite Europeenne and it has to do with European safety standards. I Googled it so you don’t have to! Even though that’s sort of glaring, it doesn’t bother me too much.

Value:
I’m really freaking torn here because on one hand it’s Space Ghost and that alone is awesome. Add in the fact that it’s under $12 and it’s cheaper than most mass market toys out there… But the out of sorts articulation, the incredibly loose legs, the flashing, the paint, the general cheapness of the figure… It makes me not sure if this is a good value or not. It’s not a good figure, but it’s not overwhelmingly offensive. It’s just SUCH a wasted opportunity.

The Hanna-Barbera line from Jazwares has a ton of potential… But it’s a toy line by Jazwares and thus is held back by their own cost cutting and cheapness. I really wanted to like this figure and despite a bunch of weak spots, there are some neat things about it… But this guy just ultimately doesn’t cut the mustard. I don’t necessarily feel like I threw $11 away, but I don’t necessarily feel like I got a Space Ghost figure either.

The one thing I will say for this figure is despite his flaws he seems pretty photogenic. I think that is owed to the Space Ghost design more than anything, though. Pick him up if you have $11 you don’t really need and are just desperate for a Space Ghost figure. Oddly enough he’s a great “base” for a custom Space Ghost. So long as you want to sand, repaint and fix him. Jazwares… The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Where the heck did this guy come from, and where did you get it, Newton? I see that he's for sale online, but given all the QC issues you mention, I'd like to see it in person at a brick & mortar before I buy one. Oh, yes, I will buy one. No matter how poor the articulation, I will be happy to have Space Ghost and Blip standing on my shelf (BTW, Blip is WAY too big!).

These figures got no publicity at all. In fact Jazwares shipped them without sending out a single photo. I heard about them through the grapevine before they were shipped, but nobody knew what they would look like until they hit TRU and Ebay. Kinda crazy.

I still own all the Toynami H-B "Super-Hero" stuff (great frickin' line), so this is an easy pass, but perhaps the line will improve with time, especially since Jazwares has "acquired" that dude who ran Marvel Legends & Marvel Universe for Toy Biz & Hasbro. Until then, I'm banking on the X-Plus H-B vinyl line that should be hitting soon-ish. Can't wait for those!

Holy crap this figure was a complete waste. A Space Ghost that can't shoot Zorak? What in the ever loving hell? Jazwares actually got a few licenses worth a damn and seem to be squandering them. Those Regular Show figures I reviewed. I get even more annoyed by them daily.
Those wrists on Space Ghost…ugh. 1 of two things happened here 1. These guys have never played with a high articulation figure or 2. like you said, ran out of money half way through.
BOTCH